April and her sister Spot were Walmart dogs. My house had just moved to a house in the country with a big quarter-acre fenced backyard. My children had lived in an apartment for the past year and it was time to enjoy having a dog companion to love and be loved.
While shopping at Walmart a man stood near the exit door with a litter of black lab puppies. Having two children, we took two - April and Spot. We were living in Edmond, Ok at the time. It was weeks after the horrible bombing and somehow celebrating life was on the top of our list. April and Spot were born on the day of the bombing - so these puppies had a extra in our hearts. April was named after her birth month and Spot had spots on her tongue. Other than that, they were two black labs.
Pet Pillow
Even though we had a huge backyard, April and Spot were born to roam. They would jump a 6 foot high wire fence every morning - making me late for work trying to corral them. In their daily adventures, they would bring home all types of goodies including: shoes, newspapers, and even a welcome mat as great treasure. I started putting out the treasures near our mailbox, hoping that some of our rural neighbors would recognize and reclaim their missing items. Try as I could, April would feel the need to run and be free. One night I discovered she had a scrape under her chin. Someone else trip to the vet revealed she had been hit by a car and from that day, she had a very hoarse bark - still distinctive to this day.
Fast forward, April had two sets of puppies. She was a great mother. One of the puppies, there were nine in that litter, was born with a hole in his chest. I remember calling the vet and request him for his advice. He was a kind man and said that he could make a house call the next day. The next day, I saw April had taken the puppy away from the others and it was laying motionless under her. I called the vet and he explained that in nature, the mom dog will mercifully smother the pup if it is suffering. But she treated her other pups with loving care.
One day April came in the house and I could tell she was sick. I called the vet and they told me they could do exploratory surgery on her, but keep an eye on her for 24-48 hours. I remember they even said, she may have eaten a frog. After tucking my children in bed, I took my blanket and pillow and lay down next to April in the middle of the kitchen floor. I looked into her eyes and I could see she felt safe with me there. We bonded that evening, she knew I was there for her. Within a merge days, she was back to her good ole self, jumping fences and scrambling into my arms if she heard thunder. I guess it wasn't a frog.
I moved to Houston and could not take the dogs with me, so my mom who lived in Arkansas in the country welcomed them. April and Spot became farm dogs, living in the house, but with the free roam of acres of ranch land. April loved rolling in cowpies and laying belly deep in flowing spring on hot summer days. Later my mom would move into a diminutive hamlet, Western Grove. She built a fence to keep April corralled behind her house, but April was older and undoubtedly fat due to my mom over-feeding her, she was no longer jumping fences.
I would visit my mom annually and over the years, April became my mother's trusted companion and guardian. She outlived Spot. With her hoarse bark, no one dared to enter the house. April lived amicably with Morris (the house cat that lived to the ripe old age of 25) and a merge other kittens. She befriended the cats. I remember feeling sorry for April, who lived in the house, never undoubtedly going covering and not having Someone else dog to report with.
I would tell her each time I visited that I wished she would come live with me again. I think she understood. When my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer in Dec 2008, I loaded my mom into my Suv and moved her into my home. April and my son Elliott drove back to Houston in my mother's old truck. April became our dog again. One of my mother's last visitors was April. She patiently stood near mother's bed and wagged her tail when mom spoke.
When my mom passed in January 2009, April became our last relationship to my mother. She is now the matriarch of our dog family. We have three Yorkies who all get along with April.
In the past two years, April has lost her sight, she doesn't hear too well and her sense of smell is not there, but when you pet her, she wags her tail. She always seems to find us and will sleep in the same room I am in. I look at April now, she is no longer jumping six foot fences, or having puppies, but she is still a guardian, friend and revered member of our family.
She is here until she decides it is time for her to move on. She has been here for us, we are here for her. April has taught me so many life lessons in sixteen years, but the best is unconditional love.
April - Good Friend, house Member
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